It has been three years since Remco Evenpole experienced his first gravel race in a Grand Tour. On stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia, he struggled on the Tuscan Stellato, losing two minutes to eventual winner Egan Bernal in Montalcino.

The news that the course of this year's Tour de France, his first, would include gravel roads was met with a negative reaction from Belgian riders when the race route was announced in October, who said they did not think it was necessary.

Patrick Lefebvre, his Suredal-Quick Step team boss, has also expressed his displeasure with the trend on several occasions. Heading into Sunday's Tour de France stage 9 (on a dirt road near Troyes), one of Lefebvre's men appears to have changed his attitude.

"I'm looking forward to that stage, but I'm also a little nervous," Evenpoel told Belgian media after stage 8 in Colombie-les-Deux-Eglise. 'I can't wait to discover that gravel road, but at the same time I know that anything can happen, and the GC riders have to be careful not to lose time.'

"I know every sector. I love this sector, to be honest. We'll see what happens. What will happen depends on the top group and if there are really strong riders in front of us."

"In any case, I have the impression that tomorrow's stage will be one of the most watched sporting events of the year."

Lefebvre spoke to Cycling News in the rain-soaked village of Semur-en-Aussois on the morning of stage 8, and remained adamantly opposed to the idea of gravel in the Grand Tour.

"I am against it. I don't think gravel has any place in the Tour de France. At first I was against Strade Bianche, but then I changed my mind. But it doesn't belong in a stage race."

"I am not Madame Soleil (a French astrologer). There are two races: one is for the stage win, and the other is for the GC riders not to lose time." I will run to protect Lemko as much as possible. I have no personal ambitions for the other riders. We will find out sooner or later. We'll see on the day."

In his weekly opinion column for Het Newsblad, Lefebvre reflected on the modern classic version of the Giro d'Italia.

The race's epic seventh stage, a rain-soaked ride on the famous Stellato to Montalcino, where Cadel Evans won the Maria Rosa, created an indelible image in the race's recent history. 14 years later, Lefebvre's discomfort with the concept is still exemplified by this example.

"The image of Cadel Evans at the 2010 Giro is burned into my retinas. 'He won the gravel stage, but crossed the finish line with his entire face covered in gravel. Is that what we want our athletes to look like?"

Even though the Tour de France peloton is hoping that the current dry weather forecast will betray them, it is a question that many fans will immediately answer with a resounding "yes."

Even Poel and the 172 riders who completed stage 8 battled through a variety of conditions on Saturday when rain hit the Tour at the end of a warm and dry opening week. He finished 10th with Fred Wright and Alex Aramburu, while sprinters Biniam Guillemay, Jasper Philipsen, and Arnaud de Lier fought for the stage win in the finish excitement.

For Evenpole, the group sprint finish put him in an unfamiliar position, a situation he said came about entirely by chance.

"The start was a little tricky because of yesterday's time trial, but in the end it was a pretty good day," Evenpoel said. But I was surrounded by my teammates and was able to spend most of the stage at the front of the peloton."

"I didn't want to lose time in a silly way on the last kilometer of the climb. So I held the lead and finished 10th, but that was a fluke. It wasn't on purpose."